Classic Cars as NFT's?

I have got to admit that I have had to work hard to get my head around Crypto Currencies, Blockchain, NFTs and the idea of the Metaverse.  I'm trying, but it is not coming easy.

I can go to Lamborghini's website and for a mere $USD69,696 I can buy an animation of a Lamborghini on Mars in the form of a Non-Fungible Token.  Check it out  Here is the description from Lamborghini as to what you are buying...

"A Yellow Aventador SVJ Roadster on the planet Mars with one astronaut walking and the sun and the moons of mars are featured in the background in this limited edition drop for ‘The Epic Road Trip’ series. Automobili Lamborghini, NFT PRO and INVNT.ATOM present an unparalleled curated series of NFT drops that offers fans, collectors, enthusiasts, and the crypto community the opportunity to collect the ultimate set of digital collectibles and experience an epic Automobili Lamborghini road trip. Drop 1 in Lamborghini's ‘The Epic Road Trip’ series is ‘To the moon and beyond’."

Maybe I just lack the disposable income, but I can think of better uses for my money.  Perhaps it is because I'm not really interested in late model Lamborghinis.  Needless to say, I'm not a bidder on this. It does beg the question, "Is there a digital representation of an automobile that I would pay for?" And secondly, "Is there a place for NFT's in the classic and specialty car world?" I do think the answer to both these questions is yes.

Ruf's 'Fazination'; the first 'viral' car video, and the only opportunity for most of us to experience the bonkers Yellowbird.

If I had to pick my one favourite car it would be the Ruf 'Yellowbird' from 1987.  Ruf made 29 of them, and they are all worth well over $1M today.  I got close to one that came through Calgary, but never managed to get a ride.  The video 'Fazination', that Ruf put out around 1990, most likely is the closest I will come to experiencing the car.  Ruf hired a helicopter and filmed Stefan Roser going around the Nurburgring for two smoke-filled, sideways laps. They sold VHS tapes out of their showroom in Pffafenhausen, Germany.  Had I been at the factory, I wouldn't have thought for a second to pay the $50 or whatever the tape cost. The footage is thrilling.

Nick Mason, the former drummer for Pink Floyd and long- time car collector, published the book, 'Into The Red', about 25 years ago.  In it were descriptions of about 20 of the cars in his collection - including a Ferrari 250 GTO, BRM V16, ERA and various other extremely valuable racing cars. He took the cars to Donington Park and took good quality recordings of the noises they made while driven in anger.  A CD accompanies the book, and the noises are fantastic.

Here is what a 1950 BRM V16 sounds like...

There are not many recordings of a BRM V16 - they didn't work back then, and they don't work very well now.  Rebuilding a BRM V16 and getting it to work properly makes even something like a 4-Cam Porsche Carrera engine rebuild look like your kid's after school project. I've seen the car at Goodwood, but it was only using about half of its 14,000rpm.  I love the recording of this car developing all 400hp from its 1.5 Litres.

Sony's Grand Turismo gaming platform has recreated the driving experience of hundreds of cars to an astonishing degree.  The new '7th' Edition has added cars as diverse as a 2013 Porsche 918 Hybrid, 1984 Nissan Skyline Silhouette Group 5, and a 1954 Maserati AGCS/53 Spyder.  Polyphony Digital, which is owned by Sony but semi-autonomous, has annual sales in the Billions, and accounts for a wildly disproportionate share of Sony's overall profits.  Many boutique manufacturers hope to groom future clients by giving their cars to Grand Turismo to digitally replicate.

I've visited some of the world's great automotive museums, and usually walk away with one of the lavish books sold in their gift shops. Ralph Lauren, Peter Mullin, Miles Collier,  Fred Simeone and others have published lovely printed works depicting the cars they have collected.

There is clearly a market for the representation of unique automobiles in many forms of media. We can use 3D cameras and Laser scanning to make a faithful digital version of a car. We can record the noises and shoot video coverage. We can add the history and stories behind the design and production. We buy books, magazines and videos about the vehicles we are interested in.

What hasn't really been done in the collector car world - at least to my knowledge - is creating a suite of digital content about one specific car, and then serializing it. That is what an NFT could do - It would allow a person to buy the digital version of a rare or important car.

I think this opens up many possibilities. The digital NFT could be sold along side the genuine artifact. Car collectors could monetize their collections by creating and selling the NFT versions of their cars - creating a business and offsetting the costs of maintenance and storage. Museums could offer NFTs of the cars in their collections and sell them the same way that they sell books in their gift shops, or auction them to their donors. Manufacturers could sell digital versions of their concept cars or racing cars.  If they are limited editions and serialized, then a secondary market for them could exist, and they could be traded and collected.

In concept, this wouldn't be that much different than fine art  - where you have an original, and then various prints or other reproductions. Ultimately, It would allow more people to experience and learn about the car, while taking nothing away from the owner of the original.

I'm not really interested in paying $70k for an animation of a Lamborghini on Mars.  If I really wanted to, I could rent an Aventador for a day for a lot less money.  If I really wanted a nice screensaver, I could spend a couple of days in Adobe Creative Suite and make an image of a car on Mars (ok maybe with a little help). But a digital model of a BRM V16, Auto Union 'C' Type or Ruf Yellowbird?  Quite possibly that is something that I could be interested in.

Ultimately, it isn't the medium or media, but the message or content that is going to matter.  If somebody can parcel engaging content on an interesting car, and wrap it up as an NFT sold at a reasonable price, I'm quite sure they would find a market.

Lawrence Romanosky, Calgary, Canada

Lromanosky@me.com, 403-607-8625